Dolo 650 Makers Say Rs 1000 Crore Spent, But Over Many Years; Everything We Know About the Row

Drug company Micro Labs Ltd, which manufactures the popular Dolo 650 tablets, has said that it has spent Rs 1,000 crore across divisions over several years, which is being called as freebies to doctors to promote the usage of the tablets. FMRAI – a body of medical representatives alleged that the pharma company that makes Dolo spent Rs 1,000 crores in the form of freebies to doctors as incentives for them to prescribe the drug, and the matter subsequently came under the scanner of the Supreme Court.

As per a report by CNBC TV18, a spokesperson of the Dolo makers on Monday said that the data generated is over many years across their 14 divisions and 6,000 strong field force. The only freebies the firm gave out were the ones allowed such as books, pens and small mementos, the company said, adding that it currently cooperating with all investigations.

The statement comes at a time when it has been alleged that Micro Labs Ltd gave away freebies of Rs 1000 crore to doctors and medical officials to promote its anti-inflammatory drug Dolo 650. On Thursday, the Supreme Court was told by FMRAI that the Central Board of Direct Taxes has accused the Bengaluru-based company of giving such freebies. Following this, a spokesperson of Micro Labs said that it has been falsely and maliciously alleged that the company has been distributing freebies worth Rs 1,000 crore to promote Dolo 650 in one year.

“This is highly misleading and is affecting the reputation of Micro Labs, pharmaceutical industry and doctors,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNBC TV18.

Dolo is a household name and became more popular during the pandemic as the anti-fever drug that was widely used. Sanjay Parikh who was representing the Federation of Medical & Sales Representatives Association alleged that doctors were prescribing an irrational dose combination citing a CBDT report.

However, Micro Labs refuted the reports a day after and said said on Friday that when Covid-19 was at its peak, the brand did only Rs 350 crore in sales and that it was simply unprofitable to promote the drug by spending much more money.

“It is impossible for any company to spend Rs 1,000 crore on the marketing of a brand which did 350 crore in the Covid year. That too when Dolo 650 comes under NLEM (price control),” Jayaraj Govindaraju, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communication, Micro Labs Limited told news agency ANI.

He also claimed that not only Dolo tablets, but a variety of other company products, were widely used as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. “It wasn’t just Dolo 650; other Covid protocol drugs like Vitamin C and vitamin combinations also performed exceptionally well during Covid,” he added.

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